Secrets of the Underground
by Kishiko Masago
Summary: Humanity has used Pokemon for too long and in the future, Pokemon battles are outlawed. An evil crime syndicate has created a series of underground battling rings. Ash Ketchum yearns to relive his glory days and participates in them; however, a chance encounter causes him to investigate the rings and who is behind them without Pikachu. Rated T for strong language and dark themes.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"What have you done?"

The voice, booming and discontented, echoed off of the crumbling walls of the ruins, making bricks of worn, tan earth tremble and fall, breaking into hundreds of clay pieces. The creatures crouched within the crumbling walls quivered slightly as their leader's irate roars filled their ears.

"You idiots!" a creature standing on all fours yelled, straightening itself so it's silver and royal blue coloring caught the setting sun, "I cannot reset time again. The fabrics of space and time are unraveling. Resetting to a peaceful time is impossible, unless we all want to be destroyed. Besides, there is no point in trying to dissuade humans from abusing our kind; it always happens, no matter what we do."

"Silence, Dialga!" the white creature perched on a significantly higher platform of earth exclaimed, making the ruin shake again, "No one is permitted to speak unless I request it. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, master," all of the creatures gathered replied meekly and in unison, though it was unintentional and out of place.

The white, four legged creature turned its piercing emerald eyes to the levitating creature with a white head and neck and red hindquarters. Without a word being exchanged, the creature departed, along with its similarly structured silver and blue counterpart. When the levitating creatures had gone, the white, four legged creature spoke again.

"I have sent Latios and Latias to be liaisons to the human governing organizations," the creature said calmly, "They are going to fix the problems _you_ have caused by fighting each other around humans!"

"Uxie, Azelf and I have hardly argued, master," a pixie-like creature with a pink head and two long tails with red jewels on them retorted, "And why did you not send any of us?"

"Not now, Mesprit," the leader replied, stamping his front left foot to silence the murmuring among the members of the council, "As I was saying, your careless interactions with each other has caused humans to think that forcing Pokémon to battle is unacceptable and not cruel at all. Latios and Latias are going to share our displeasure with humans in power and are going to make sure that _all _Pokémon battles are banned, once and for all."

"There will surely be resistance, Master Arceus," a pixie-like creature with a yellow head and silver body added meekly, keeping its eyes firmly shut.

"I am aware, Uxie," Arceus replied, turning its emerald gaze to the creature, "But we will deal with that when it happens."

"I pray for your sake it does not happen for a long time…" the last pixie-like creature with a teal head murmured to its leader as all of the Council exited the ruins as it completely crumbled behind them, leaving no evidence that the council had ever been there.

**A/N: The reason Arceus does not chastise Mesprit and Uxie like he does the other legendaries is because they have always been his loyal servants every time and space is reset, whereas the other legendaries rebel. **


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" a male voice commanded as a yellow mouse-like creature with black-tipped ears rushed forward with sparks of electricity coming from the red pouches on its cheeks.

Standing across the ring that the yellow mouse creature and a blue mouse creature were battling in was a female with short, blonde hair. Her brow was creased as she watched her little blue mouse with a white chest jump in the air to avoid the powerful bolt of electricity. Before the female could command a counterattack, the male trainer barked out another order to his yellow Pokémon. He smirked at her and she winced while she watched helplessly as her little Pokémon was plowed into the ground by a powerful Iron Tail attack.

"Marill!" she yelped, running over to the injured blue Pokemon, whose ears drooped significantly.

"This isn't finished," the referee standing nearby ordered, yanking the female up by the arm and throwing her out of the ring roughly, "Marill can still move."

"But Marill's been battling all day!" the female protested as tears sprung to her eyes.

"_You _agreed to this!" the referee retorted, kicking the woman lying on the floor, "This battle is to _the end_."

"Y-yes sir," the female replied timidly as she slowly stood and commanded, "Marill, use Double Edge!"

The male on the other side of the ring watched as the little blue Pokémon, Marill, neared his Pikachu. He narrowed his russet eyes and ran a hand through his messy, raven hair before commanding the yellow creature poised to strike.

"Pikachu, take Marill out with Volt Tackle."

Both trainers closed their eyes. A helpeless wail of "Mari-" echoed through the arena. The female's eyes snapped open and she ran over to her defeated and injured Pokémon, cradling it in her arms. She bit her lip hard enough for it to bleed to prevent herself from crying, but despite this, tears forced themselves out of her eyes and down her cheeks. The man watching from across the ring opened his eyes in triumph, though his expression soured when the referee approached the woman threateningly. His eye twitched and he called back his Pikachu as he strode around the ring and closer to overhear the encounter between the woman and the referee that seemed to hate her.

"Stop crying," the referee barked, "_You_ signed up for this. You should have thought about the ramifications before you-"

"You think I do this because I _want _to?!" the female demanded, raising her voice, "You, sir, are _thoroughly _mistaken if you think, for one moment, that I actually _want _to do this. There is no way I'm going to make two thousand in one night…"

The man witnessing the encounter frowned. What did the woman mean by "make two thousand in one night"? He pondered the thought for a moment before he heard the referee speak again.

"Well, I guess you're going to have to sleep with a lot of people to make it up," the referee snarled, kicking the woman in the stomach.

The woman's helpless, defeated squeakwas the last straw for the male watching the encounter. He walked over and pulled the referee by the collar and turned him around so they looked at each other.

"Don't you _dare_ speak to her that way!" the observer growled, clenching his teeth, "Leave her alone and let her out of here."

"Let go of me, kid," the referee spat, "I have friends in high places…"

The male let go, giving the referee a glare. Much to the male trainer's pleasure, the referee stormed off as he was called to be a referee for another battle across the dingy arena. Once the referee was out of sight, the male looked to the female, who turned her sorrowful emerald eyes to meet his russet ones. Tears shone in her eyes as she ran her bloodied fingers through her blonde hair, causing red streaks to appear wherever she touched. The man crouched to her level and placed a soothing hand on her wrist. She yanked her hand away as if she had been burned.

"You're lucky you know…" the woman said, standing slowly with her bloodied Marill cradled in her arms like a child, "You're a young male, only responsible for yourself. You must be reliving the 'glory days' of your childhood. And _don't _try to convince me that you "understand", because you _don't_! You're not a gambling escort who's starving her infant to death because she cannot eat enough herself!"

The woman abruptly walked away after spitting her parting statement at her former opponent. In reaction, the man's face fell and his shoulders slumped. He wanted to chase after her, but what could he say? If he had to tell the truth, he _was_ dabbling in Pokémon fighting rings to relive his glory days, though the money and fame he earned were nice prizes as well. The male shook his head, turning away from the abandoned, bloody fighting ring. He bent down to pick up Pikachu and inspected him for any wounds. Thankfully, the electric mouse only had a few bleeding marks from Marill's bite attack.

"You okay buddy?" the trainer asked, wiping the blood from Pikachu's puncture wounds.

"Pi," the Pokémon replied, slowly running its tongue over the slowly-closing wounds.

The man sighed, looking around with sad eyes. He wondered how things had gotten so bad. He remembered the "good old days", when Pokémon battles were legal and battling was always common. There had never been an air of despair around the words "Pokémon battle" until battling had become illegal. He did not remember battling being so brutal and cruel that it caused the Pokémon to bleed or be pushed beyond their limits. He turned around slowly, looking away from the ring and in the direction that his former opponent walked in. He sighed softly, placing Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Things just aren't the same as they used to be…" he observed as he stepped out into the city.

"You can say _that_ again," a familiar female voice chimed in, making the male spin around in confusion.

"M-Misty?"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Yes, it's me, Ash." Misty replied.

"What are you doing here?" Ash accused, his voice sounding weaker than normal.

"Calm down," Misty said, raising an eyebrow, "I came here to investigate."

She fiddled with the end of her braided orange hair, "I've heard about underground, illegal activities and I figured I could see if someone was bluffing or not… Needless to say, they're telling the truth."

He nodded, swallowing and shifting uncomfortably. Misty had been a good friend of his since childhood and he would loathe trying to explain why he had come up from underground. He could almost imagine the exchange and feel the impact of her hand against his face. This made him wince while trying to look anywhere but at her.

"Why are you here, Ash?"

Misty's question made Ash's mouth snap shut. He did not _dare _admit that he had only been in the Underground for sport. On the other hand, he did not want to look desperate. Before Ash could say a word, a group of men in black outfits came up behind Misty. Ash shoved her out of the way, telling her to run to a safer place. Misty just stared for a moment before hiding behind a building while watching Ash and Pikachu, who ended up battling the men that possessed Pokémon of their own.

Thankfully, Ash and Pikachu beat the men, but not without sustaining injuries of their own. Pikachu had several bleeding gashes and Ash had been attacked by one of the Pokémon when Pikachu had dodged a Rollout attack. Ash saw that Pikachu was blanching fast and scrambled to pick him up and carry him to the Pokemon hospital in Viridian City. However, Ash had unknowingly sustained a broken ankle when he was hit by the Rollout attack but ran on it anyway, despite his body and brain's frantic messages of painful protest. Just before entering the hospital, Ash's wounded and swelling ankle gave out and he fell to the ground, hearing a very loud "crack" before his world abruptly turned black. The last thing he heard before black consumed him was the cry of his wounded Pikachu.

A bright light made Ash's eyelashes flutter clumsily as he awoke from the dreamless "sleep" he had been in. His eyes were greeted by a reflection of light off of the white ceiling, which made him grumble to himself. He heard a female voice and sat from his reclined position abruptly, turning his head in the direction of the sound. The voice belonged to an unfamiliar girl who sat beside Misty in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the room.

The girl could not have been more than ten years old, with caramel ringlet curls pooling around her shoulders. Her irises were a striking middle-of-the-spectrum amethyst, though it was hard to see them clearly because her eyes were narrowed. Her skin was slightly darker than his, which was probably due to excessive exposure to the sun. She wore denim shorts and a black t-shirt with Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and Pikachu on it. Her sneakers made a quiet noise against the floor as she approached Ash.

Before Ash could introduce himself, the female reached over and smacked him hard upside the head. He let out a noise of displeasure before speaking.

"What the hell?" he demanded, rubbing the back of his head.

"You jerk!" the girl hissed, "What have you been doing to that poor Pikachu? Do you know how many injuries he has?"

"Anna, what did I say about interfering with patients?" a calm voice interrupted as woman stepped into the room.

"I don't understand, Mom," the girl said exasperatedly, "Why do adults think they are above the law? You taught me to _always _follow the rules because they keep us safe."

"I understand, dear," the girl's mother replied, "But people have a hard time adjusting."

"I hate to interrupt," Misty interjected, "But is Pikachu going to be okay?"

The woman adjusted her labcoat before narrowing her gray-green eyes and speaking, "He will make a full recovery, no thanks to your friend's negligence. Constant fighting has bruised some of that Pokemon's internal organs. His spill on the sidewalk caused a few broken ribs and a fractured ankle. You are one lucky trainer, Mr. Ketchum; any of the broken ribs could have punctured one or both of that poor Pikachu's lungs. Needless to say, he needs to recover _in the hospital_."

Ash just sat in the bed, biting his lower lip. How could he have been so blind? Surely, constant fighting after a hiatus of thirteen years would cause problems. He pinched the bridge of his nose in shame and looked at the floor.

"I-I'm sorry," he murmured, running his hand through his hair.

"Don't apologize to me," the doctor replied coolly, "I pray this was the only Pokemon you battled with because his injuries are so extensive."

"I need to go," Ash said, starting to stand up but yelping as he put pressure on his left leg.

"_You _need crutches. You have an ankle fracture _and _a pulled hamstring as well as overall weakness in your muscles," the woman added, handing Misty crutches.

"Sorry, Mister Ketchup, but you're down and out for the count," the girl added snidely, earning a glare from her mother.

"Ketchum," Misty corrected with a silent snicker.

"Annabelle, go sit at the front desk," the doctor said sternly.

The young woman left obediently, shutting the door behind her. The doctor looked at the Pikachu laying on the other bed in the room and sighed. At the same time, Ash looked at Pikachu with a contorted look of pain on his face.

"You were involved in those rings, weren't you, Mister Ketchum? And please, don't lie. Mothers know these things."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Ash demanded.

The doctor's eyes sparkled with tears, "My son joined them… He hasn't come home. Anna is distraught and my husband is traveling through all other regions to make sure he wasn't kidnapped or is not being held hostage. M-May I ask you a favor?"

"Absolutely," Misty responded, cutting Ash off while giving him a glare that said to 'shut up'.

"I'm sure you have other Pokemon. Could you please investigate who is behind the rings?" the doctor asked as she wiped her eyes to hide her falling tears, "I-I just want my little boy back…"

Ash frowned slightly and whispered, "It's okay. We'll find him and bring him back safely."

"Bless your souls," the doctor said before her pager went off and she exited the room.

"C'mon Ash. We need to get to the bottom of these rings," Misty insisted, helping Ash out of his bed and throwing his clothes at him as she left the room, "I'll be out in the lobby.

The door closed behind her as she left. Ash looked forlornly at Pikachu, gently leaving a kiss on his nose. Despite the fact he had grown out of public affection since childhood, he could not leave his closest friend without comfort. He knew better then to touch the little Pokemon's head; the Pokémon had also suffered a mild fracture of the frontal bone from the impact of the duo's epic fall. Ash shakily rose from the side of Pikachu's bed, picking up the clothes Misty had handed to him. He sighed, dressing himself and wincing as he moved his leg to put on his jeans. He had been on his legs so much that some of the muscles in his leg gave out due to overuse. He also remembered something about an over stretched hamstring, but he wrote it off as insignificant. He finally left the room after scratching behind Pikachu's ears as a 'so long'. As he shut the door quietly, he was met with a glare from Misty.

"You sprained your ankle AND pulled your hamstring, you idiot! You should be on crutches," the redhead scolded, shoving a pair of metal crutches at Ash, who rolled his eyes.

"Misty, you're overreacting," he said calmly, trying to keep his temper under control, "I'll be fine. I have to figure out who's behind those underground battling rings and find that doctor's son..."

"Like hell you're going to!" Misty declared, "I refuse to stand by and watch you be an idiot. I'm coming with you, end of story. You can't handle whoever by yourself without Pikachu."

Ash grit his teeth as he felt the control over his temper wane, "She asked ME, Misty..."

"You can't face this alone," Misty insisted, reaching into her pocket for a ponytail holder to put up her hair, which had gotten longer since Ash had last seen her.

"Yes, I can!" Ash snapped, throwing one of the crutches aside, "I've faced Pokémon thieves and crime syndicates trying to take over the world before as a kid. Why do I suddenly need help?"

Misty stood silently, watching Ash as he rubbed the bridge of his nose to calm himself. She swallowed; the slightly younger male had NEVER been so vocally aggressive, not even when he had battled Giovanni all of those years ago, when he was only ten. However, the redhead knew the raven-haired male well enough to know that something else was bothering him. She could see a sparkle in the corner of his russet eyes that could only be tears. She could also tell something was wrong because of the creases in his forehead.

"Ash..." she said softly, looking at him with pleading eyes.

He shook his head, turning to walk toward the hospital doors, "I have to do this alone, Misty. I-I can't let another friend get hurt because of me..."

"THAT'S what you're worried about?" Misty snapped at Ash, though he could not hear her because the hospital doors closed in her face.

Misty huffed in frustration, storming out of the hospital and heading home to get some Pokémon. Whether Ash wanted a companion or not, Misty was going to fight beside him, because friends never abandoned each other.

Meanwhile, Ash headed back to Pallet Town, blinking the tears from his eyes. He could not be anything but strong; he had an image to keep up. Besides, men were supposed to be tougher then women, though he knew deep down that the culture he lived in was not perfect. He shook his head and started to run toward home, ignoring the shooting pain in his left leg. He NEEDED to uncover the secrets of the Underground and find Michael before something terrible happened to him. When he reached Pallet Town, he passed his own home and walked into Professor Oak's lab.

"Professor? I need-"

"Ash... It's nice to see you again..."

"Gary?"


	4. Chapter 3

Ash blinked rapidly, staring at Gary, who donned a white labcoat and had an Elekid beside him. The little Pokémon's plug-like extensions coming from it's head started sparking, though it hid behind Gary's leg. The brunette bent down to soothe the small Pokèmon and stroked the back of it's head.

"It's okay, Ellie. Ash won't hurt you. He's too nice for that," he jested as his eyes met the other male's.

After the Elekid scurried away, Ash completely faced Gary as his face blanched slightly. Before he could open his mouth, the amateur Professor spoke.

"Grandpa passed a few weeks ago," Gary said, turning his head to look out the window where the Pokémon were playing, "I didn't expect him to go so soon... But anyway, I'm the Professor now."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ash replied, scratching his cheek, unsure of how to react.

"Why didn't you come home for the services?" Gary asked, looking at Ash with accusatory eyes.

He really did not have the heart to tell Gary that he had to move around constantly because of the battling rings and that it was hard to keep in contact with him.

"I-I didn't know," Ash admitted, looking at the floor.

"I see," replied Gary in a clipped tone, "How can I help you?"

"I-I need to pick up some Pokémon," Ash replied, "Pikachu's really sick and all of my other Pokémon are here."

"Don't tell me you're caught up in those battling rings too?" Gary snapped, narrowing his eyes.

Ash said nothing and instead shifted on his feet and moved forward slightly to place a hand on Gary's shoulder. Gary shoved Ash away, slapping his hand off of his shoulder.

"What happened to you?" Gary hissed, "You used to be such a good person..."

"You don't understand!" Ash growled, crossing his arms over his chest, "I was investigating the rings when Pikachu got severely hurt! I was _not_ going to let him die. I'm going to find the leader and get revenge for Pikachu!"

Gary's eyebrow quirked slightly as he mimicked Ash's posture, "Ash, we are _beyond_ childish revenge games. We're adults. I refuse to release _any_ of your Pokémon to you unless someone else will validate your story."

"They're MY Pokémon!" Ash growled, "They are loyal to ME. I am their trainer, no matter how long it's been since we've last battled together."

"Yes, I understand," Gary said calmly, "But as a Professor and human being, I cannot release them to you because they could get severely hurt, like Pikachu."

"There's a human life at stake!" Ash interjected, balling his hands into fists, "Do you want an innocent kid to die?!"

Gary stepped back slightly, taken aback by Ash's outburst. He was starting to see the boy that he knew as a kid: hotheaded, passionate and concerned about everyone. The brunette frowned slightly, feeling his protests die in his throat. He could hardly blame the other for being so emotional; his closest and best friend was sick and injured. Gary's eyes drifted back the window, where he saw Elekid giving chase after Ash's Infernape, who had been roped into watching the little electric Pokémon somehow. A forlorn smile crossed Gary's face; he knew exactly how Ash felt at that moment.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," Gary said, turning his eyes back to Ash's, "I'm still kind of sensitive. A family death takes a lot out of you, ya know?"

Ash simply nodded, a grim and pained expression crossing his features, "I understand. Well, I don't know what you're feeling, but you know what I mean..."

"Which ones do you need?" Gary asked, beckoning for Ash to follow him to the back door of the lab.

"Well, I was thinking about taking Bulbasaur and Swellow. I'm going to get Charizard and Squirtle," Ash replied, smiling a little as Bulbasaur stopped what he was doing and trotted over to Ash.

"Bulba," Bulbasaur said, wrapping his vines around Ash's leg as a greeting.

"Hey buddy," Ash said, wincing as he bent down to pat the green Pokémon on the head, "You want to go fight some crime?"

Bulbasaur looked at Ash with eager and determined eyes while nodding. Ash smiled, reaching in his pocket for a Pokéball for Bulbasuar to stay in. He felt something smack the back of his head and looked down to see a small bag of Pokéballs and turned around to see Gary with a small smirk on his face.

"Figured you might need these."

"Thanks."

Bulbasaur hesitated a moment before going into the Pokéball. Ash mouthed 'I'll explain later' to the observant plant Pokémon. Bulbasaur nodded and jumped into the Pokéball without another word. A fluttering of wings made Ash look up to see Swellow hovering over his head. He smiled and held out another Pokéball, which the navy and red bird Pokémon swooped into effortlessly. He shrunk the two balls with the press of a button and placed them in his pocket, seeing as he had no other place to put them. He grabbed the other Pokéballs and also placed them in his pocket, moving some to his right pocket because the weight in his left one made his limp more noticeable. He looked over at his human friend, who looked slightly concerned.

"Why don't you take another Pokémon with you?" Gary asked, tilting his head.

"I'll be okay," Ash replied, smiling weakly.

Elekid toddled into Ash's line of vision, followed by Infernape. The fire monkey looked at Ash with a gentle smile as Gary picked up the little electric Pokémon.

"Take Infernape with you, please," Gary insisted, looking at Ash with a worried expression, "You don't know what you're up against."

The fire Pokémon looked eagerly at it's trainer, smiling slightly. Ash smiled back at the Pokémon as it approached. Before he could speak, Infernape reached into Ash's pocket and jumped into the Pokéball it had pulled out. Ash chuckled, shaking his head. He took one last look around the lab grounds, where Pokémon frolicked freely. Ash noted that Gary had placed Elekid down nearby and it teetered off to play with Ash's Torkoal.

"I see why you enjoy this," Ash said to Gary, watching as a small Charmander toddled by, "It's beautiful to just watch them in nature."

Gary chuckled at the tiny Charmander's antics and picked it up, rubbing it's head. He looked to Ash and nodded, looking back out at the Taruos that roamed toward the back of the field. He murmured something that the injured trainer did not quite catch and the raven-haired male shrugged, watching the way his friend pet the Charmander he was holding with gentleness.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Gary asked abruptly, shaking Ash from his reverie, "You have a world to save, Ketchum. Don't dawdle any longer."

Ash chuckled, extending his hand to Gary, who shook it with a good-natured smile on his face. Ash then jogged through the lab building and out of Pallet Town. After reaching the tall grass, he stopped on the top of a hill. He overlooked his hometown, which seemed peaceful and familiar, despite some recent tragedies. With a final wave, Ash departed for the Charizard Valley.


	5. Chapter 4

"Man, getting there is taking so much longer then I thought," Ash muttered to himself, ducking to avoid hitting his head on a low cave wall.

Bulbasaur, who had decided to stay out of its Pokéball to keep Ash company, rolled its eyes. Though the male had matured significantly since the last time the Pokémon saw him, Bulbasaur noted that Ash had many of the same tendencies as he did in childhood, though they were presented with a little more dignity.

"I can see the Valley up ahead," Ash declared, "Hey, Bulbasaur, you wanna race to the Valley?"

The grass Pokémon gave its trainer a look that asked 'are you kidding me?'. Ash shrugged, mumbling something that Bulbasaur could not understand before picking up his pace. The entrance was only feet away when a Charizard swooped down, landing right in front of the entrance. The trainer on the Charizard's back gave a whoop and jumped off, making Ash raise an eyebrow.

"Um, excuse me, but your Charizard is blocking the entrance," Ash said to the trainer, trying to figure out whether to call the person 'mister' or 'miss'.

The trainer brushed his fiery red hair aside and chuckled, "Sorry about that. I'm the guardian of the Valley. 'Name's Seth. And you are?"

Ash's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the boy before him. He could not have been older than fourteen and hardly seemed strong enough to guard a valley full of super powerful Pokémon.

"How do I know you're not bluffing?" Ash asked, taken over by skepticism.

"Why would I have reason to?" the boy countered, conveying his defensiveness through the poison coating on his words.

"Listen, I don't have time for games," Ash sighed exasperatedly, "I need to pick up a Charizard and go."

"I'm sorry, but you can't do that."

Ash quirked an eyebrow. There were TWO people guarding this valley? A female with forest green hair strode up behind the red headed boy and smacked him upside the head. She mumbled something under her breath before turning to Ash.

"Who are you?" Ash asked, looking at the girl.

"Angelique. Senior Valley Guardian. Sadly related to this doofus here," the girl replied.

"_Senior_?" Ash asked, his forehead crinkling, "How old are you; _twelve_?"

"Seventeen, prick," the girl snapped, gesturing to herself before gesturing to the boy, "This one here is fifteen but acts like he's ten."

Ash just shook his head, ignoring the fact that he was insulted by a mouthy teenager. He was still trying to get over the fact that kids were confronting him.

"No one else seems to be here," Ash noted, looking at the teens warily, "Why is that?"

"Trainers came a while ago to get their Charizards. Any left unattended are now considered wild," the boy said matter-of-factly.

"... You really think I'm stupid, don't you?" Ash asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

The boy's smug admission made him realize that the teens were lying. He watched the girl, whose expression soured as soon as she realized what Ash had meant. The girl grabbed Pokéballs from her waist and tossed them in the air. She brushed her green bangs from her eyes and smirked at Ash.

"I hope you have Pokémon, good sir. Because you have to battle to get your Charizard back," she threatened, taking a fighting stance.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Ash replied, beckoning to Bulbasaur and tossing the other Pokéballs from his pocket on the air, "And I'd be more than happy to crush you."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you'll have to beat _both_ of us," the boy added, calling out three Pokémon in addition to the girl's six.

"I suppose that's fair," Ash replied, "After all, this _is_ illegal."

"It's never stopped you before," the girl countered, looking over Ash's Pokémon, "Quite an impressive team, despite the size, I must say. Bulbasaur, Infernape and Swellow."

Ash paused a moment to examine the teams before him. The girl's team consisted of Charizard, Pidgeot, Raichu, Gyarados, Nidoqueen, and Raticate. The two Pokémon the boy had were a Wartortle and a Dratini. Ash bit his lip; he was severely outnumbered. However, it seemed that the boy had weaker Pokémon, so all he had to worry about was the girl.

"I can't wait to see your face when we beat you. Speaking of, we never discussed a condition," the girl interjected, smirking wider.

"What's your condition?" Ash demanded, anxious to start the battle.

"If you win, you can go and get your Charizard," the boy said.

"If not," the girl added, "We get to keep it _and_ take your Pokémon. Are you sure you're willing to take that risk?"

"I absolutely am," Ash replied, staring the teens down.

With those words, the battle commenced. Ash went first, since he was at a disadvantage. Bulbasaur easily dispatched Wartortle while Swellow had weakened Raticate significantly. Sadly, Infernape did minimal damage to Dratini, much to Ash's frustration.

When the siblings' turn rolled around, what seemed like all of hell broke loose. Charizard's flamethrower attack left Bulbasaur with severe burns on its flank. Infernape was hit with a powerful Hydro Pump from Gyarados and then sent spinning from Pidgeot's brave bird attack. Swellow managed to avoid Raticate's blizzard attack, only to be shocked by Raichu's thunderbolt. Then, to shake things up, Nidoqueen dealt out a powerful Earthquake attack that became the last straw for Infernape, who teetered on the edge of exhaustion.

"It's okay, Infernape. You can do it!" Ash called to his Pokémon, trying to reassure it.

"Hn. Pathetic," the girl snorted as she rolled her eyes, "Hurry this up. We don't have all day."

"Fine," Ash growled, commanding his Pokémon to attack.

Bulbasaur and Swellow went after Dratini, finally pushing it to exhaustion. However, the Pokémon struggled up, determined to fight to the death. Bulbasaur then went after Gyarados, who swept the grass Pokémon aside with its tail and sent Bulbasaur flying into Charizard's iron grip. Swellow circled around and pecked at Nidoqueen's head while the blue creature swiped at the navy bird furiously. Infernape sent Raticate flying into a nearby rock, breaking both the rock and possibly the smaller Pokémon's skull simultaneously. After getting nowhere with Nidoqueen, Swellow attacked Pidgeot with a hard headbutt, though the other bird Pokémon countered with a furious slash attack.

Gyarados hit Infernape with a hydro pump attack as Pidgeot swooped down with a brave bird attack. Charizard threw Bulbasaur in the air to use a seismic toss attack and followed it up with an iron tail that sent Bulbasaur into the ground with a loud 'crack' following the impact. The small green Pokémon managed to struggle out of the ditch it had made in the ground. Nidoqueen sent Swellow spiraling with a punch that crackled with electricity while Raichu tackled Swellow while wrapped in electricity.

Ash felt the sweat start to roll down his forehead. Infernape was close to being totally down and out while Bulbasaur had sustained major injuries to his torso. Thankfully, Swellow was able to hover above the ground despite having electricity sparking off of its wings. Ash contemplated giving up; even with the boy's Pokémon and Raticate dispatched, he was still severely outnumbered and, without Pikachu, he was not powerful enough to beat the female.

"Are you done yet?" the boy taunted, receiving a swift smack from his sister to shut him up.

"Not yet," Ash countered, narrowing his eyes.

"Hn," the girl snorted, "Then prepare to suffer. Nidoqueen, earthquake!"

The ground shook and cracked in weaker spots. The ditch Bulbasaur had once occupied had literally been ripped in half and the grass Pokémon moved farther away from it, only to be hit by Pidgeot's wing attack that sent him sailing through the air. In transit, Bulbasaur managed to deliver a razor leaf- constrict combination at Gyarados. Swellow swooped down on Raichu, sending it crashing into Nidoqueen, who blindly body slammed its teammate into the ground.

"Knock it off you two," the girl snapped as she glared at her Pokémon.

Nidoqueen charged at Infernape with a horn attack while Raichu hopped onto Pidegot and jumped onto Swellow's back, giving it a full dose of its powerful thunder attack. Bulbasaur let go of Gyarados and grabbed Raichu off of Swellow's back and threw the electric Pokémon into the ground. Raichu dug under the ground and came up right under Infernape, delivering an electric punch into the fire Pokémon's stomach. Infernape, exhausted from the beating it had taken, doubled over in pain and fell on its face while it clutched its stomach.

"Looks like we have a man down," the girl sneered, "Or should I say ape?"

Infernape managed to army crawl its way back to Ash's side, holding back its cries of pain. Ash set his jaw and looked at Bulbasaur and Swellow, who nodded determinedly. The girl smirked, commanding all of her Pokémon to attack the two defending Ash.

Charizard, Pidgeot and Gyarados attacked Bulbasaur in a methodical fashion. Gyarados delivered a hyper beam attack first. Pidgeot swooped down from behind and delivered a powerful fly attack, followed by wing attack. Charizard flew in from the left and let out a flare blitz attack at Bulbasaur, recoiling slightly due to damage it sustained to itself from the move. Bulbasaur was shaking in its defensive stance as Charizard flew high, letting out a Flamethrower in midair and then spinning to cover itself in flames. After doing that, it angled itself in Bulbasaur's direction and spiraled downward, still encased in flames and gaining more as it gained speed. It swooped down, picking Bulbasaur up in the orb of flames and then dropping it from midair. Gyarados caught the falling grass Pokémon on it's tail and used a powerful iron tail to launch it like a volleyball to Raichu, who took a break from pummeling Swellow and used an iron tail of it's own to plow Bulbasaur into the ground.

Meanwhile, Nidoqueen and Raichu double-teamed Swellow. Nidoqueen launched Raichu into the air and the little orange Pokémon spiraled its body and generated electricity for a volt tackle attack in midair. It body slammed Swellow, sending electricity through the bird Pokémon's body. Raichu then spun around to land on Swellow's back and shocked it with a thunderbolt. Nidoqueen jumped in the air as well, smacking Swellow with it's tail and sending the bird spiraling to the ground. As Swellow came closer to the ground, Nidoqueen jabbed Swellow in the chest with it's poisonous horn as Raichu jumped off to make a volleyball out of Bulbasaur.

"Were you ever a coordinator?" Ash asked the girl, noting Charizard and Raichu's exploitation of spiraling movements.

"Never," the girl snorted, "My techniques are none of _your_ business. Finish them off!"

Charizard used it's tail to light it's hand on fire and charged at Bulbasaur with a fire punch attack. Raichu jumped onto Swellow and delivered a final thunderbolt. Pidgeot swooped down and delivered an air cutter attack to Bulbasaur while Gyarados launched a long-range hyper beam at Swellow. Nidoqueen put the metaphorical icing on the cake by shaking the earth and sending dust from the battlefield flying. Ash coughed, struggling to see if his Pokémon were okay through the thick dust cloud.

"Swellow! Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled, fruitlessly waving his hand to clear the dust from the air.

"Give up, Ketchum; you lost!" the girl demanded as the dust cleared to reveal Swellow and Bulbasaur laying face down on the ground, burnt, bloody and sparking with electricity.

Ash pulled out his Pokéballs and called back Swellow and Infernape. His bangs shielded his eyes as he bent down to pick up Bulbasaur, who let out a soft grunt of defiance. The girl smirked, stepping back and Ash looked at her in confusion.

"What's that look for?" he demanded, exhaustion and defeat clear in his voice.

"You know, I was just going to take your Pokémon to humiliate you," the girl started, "But after that, I'm interested to see what you can do."

"I have no Pokémon left," Ash insisted, frowning.

She laughed, "Let's see if you're as tenacious as your Pokémon..."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh? We never added that condition, did we?"

"What condition?"

"The fight is to the death. Even for you... Pokémon, attack!"

Ash stood in his spot, watching the opponent's Pokémon approach him. He closed his eyes as he felt the heat of the fire and heard the charging of a beam and the crackle of electricity in the air. He swallowed, waiting for pain to consume him. A rush of wind made him open his eyes to see a familiar shadow looming over him.

"Charizard!" Ash called out in surprise as the Pokémon took all of the attacks for him.

"Ey?! How did you get out?" the boy demanded, glaring at Ash's Charizard.

The Pokémon stared, immobile and unblinking. After a few moments, Ash's Charizard blew a flamethrower attack in the air and flew up after it. The boy's eyes widened and he grabbed his sister's hand and whispered frantically in her ear. She swallowed as her smug expression turned panicked. She returned her Pokémon and started to run along with her brother. Ash noted that something shiny fell out of her pocket as she ran off. He picked it up as Charizard landed beside him with a 'thud'. Ash examined the silver object, tilting his head to read what was engraved on it.

The object was in the shape of the letter 'R' and the name that had been engraved was distorted, as if someone had poured acid or molten steel onto it in order to change the name. Ash stowed the item in his pocket, wondering where he remembered seeing the symbol before. He noted that the panicked behavior of the teens also had seemed familiar, but he just could not put his finger on it. He looked at Charizard and sighed.

"So, is there a Pokémon hospital around here?" Ash asked Charizard, "Or maybe a forgotten Pokémon Center?"

Charizard took Ash on it's back and flew him to a nearby town. Ash then walked to the forgotten Pokémon Center, where he was chided by Nurse Joy for letting his Pokémon get so injured and weak. Thankfully, she believed his story about infiltrating the battling rings to ensure the safety of a friend.

"Good luck," she called as Ash pushed open the once animated doors.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy. And you said the Squirtle Squad are the fire-fighters of the town, right?" Ash asked, not wanting to go on a wild goose chase.

"Right. They'll probably be around the police station," the nurse said with a smile.

"Thank you for all your help!" Ash called, closing the doors behind him.

Bulbasaur popped out of it's Pokéball to greet Charizard, who gave a smile down to its teammate. Charizard then picked up the fallen Pokéball and pressed the button on in, effectively returning itself. Ash picked up the Pokéball and returned it to his pocket, smiling at Bulbasaur.

"Just one more pal to add," Ash noted, picking up Bulbasaur to carry him, "Hope you don't mind, bud. You've done a lot already today and I don't want things to get worse for you."

The Pokémon gave a grunt but smiled regardless. Ash started walking very fast to get to town, wincing as he felt his sore muscles scream in protest. When he finally reached town, he saw that it had been desecrated. Graffiti was everywhere and there was a huge crowd in the middle of the square. Ash blinked and approached a man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir, but what's going on?" Ash asked, scratching his head.

"Civilian arrest," the man replied.

"Who are you arresting?" Ash puzzled, tilting his head.

"The culprits of the graffiti," the man replied exasperatedly.

"And they are...?"

"That damn Squirtle Squad."

"Oh that's ni- Wait, WHAT?"

"Younguns these days... I said the Squirtle squad," the elderly man replied, raising an eyebrow as he walked away.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ash exclaimed, looking at Bulbasaur, "Can things get _any_ worse? Arceus, it's like someone's _trying_ to sabotage me..."


End file.
